Carbon County Planning Commissioners are saying that PennEast/UGI plans have “inconsistencies” and that the project “...is not consistent with the adopted county or multi-county comprehensive plan and is not in compliance with the various Kidder Twp., DEP and/or US Army Corps of Engineers ordinances or regulatory requirements.”

Ivan Meixell of County Planning also “took exception to the company’s narrative, which states that the project is designed to provide the lowest cost of natural gas produced in the Marcellus Shale Region.” Mr. Meixell is quoted, “In fact, when I was on the “stop the pipeline” website, every township in Carbon from Kidder all the way down to New Jersey is protesting this. There is not one home in Carbon that will receive any of this natural gas.”

On June 6, 2016, United States members of congress Leonard Lance and Bonnie Coleman from New Jersey and Matt Cartwright (represents most of Carbon) and Mike Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania sent a letter concerning the PennEast pipeline project to the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The letter makes three important points:

(1) lack of an integrated approach to evaluation of the project

(2) this lack of integration is to be addressed by more oversight/input from the EPA and support to the Army Corps of Engineers and NJ Department of Environmental Protection, which has taken a very hard line on this pipeline’s lack of survey information

(3) The EPA is also asked to work with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to assure that FERC meets the National Environmental Policy Act requirements for a regional analysis of need. The letter states that “FERC must not solely accept precedent contracts as evidence of project need, just as simply assessing a private shippers ability to profit does not satisfy FERC’s mandate to consider the public interest.”

Once again, we have the support of our Congressman Matt Cartwright. To send an email to his office thanking him for his continued support go to: cartwright.house.gov

COPIES OF DEIS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)has published the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)They conclude the impacts of the PennEast/UGI pipeline are "minimal"

We cannot let this stand!

The PennEast/UGI pipeline threatens to take private land using eminent domain.

You are to be commended for your concern about methane gas and your strategy to reduce methane emissions in Pennsylvania. As you know, methane is a greenhouse gas that is the primary component of natural gas and has been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the second-most prevalent greenhouse gas emitted in the United States from human activities. Your strategy to reduce methane emissions includes plans to reduce methane leaks at new natural gas wells, compressor stations, processing facilities, and pipelines. This is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done. Specifically a hard look needs to be taken at the necessity for new natural gas wells and pipelines in Pennsylvania. The best way to reduce methane emissions would be to focus on renewable energy sources and eliminate Pennsylvania’s focus on natural gas, a resource that is destined to dry up and leave the state’s environment and economy devastated. The PennEast Pipeline project is a prime example of the unnecessary buildup of methane-producing infrastructure. Skipping Stone, one of the country’s premier energy markets consulting firms, says, “Local gas distribution companies in the Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey market have more than enough firm capacity to meet the needs of customers during peak winter periods.” The New Jersey Rate Counsel, an independent state agency, has gone on record stating PennEast has not demonstrated its proposed pipeline is needed, according to comments filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The counsel went on to characterize the project as "unduly generous to PennEast and unfair to consumers.” We urge you to join the thousands of Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents who have spoken out against the PennEast Pipeline. We need you to protect us from the unnecessary production of methane gas and the lasting environmental damage that will result if this project is completed.